List of WKRP in Cincinnati episodes

Main article: WKRP in Cincinnati

This article lists the episodes of WKRP in Cincinnati, an American television series created by Hugh Wilson that originally aired from 1978 to 1982.

At present, the first season of the series has been released on DVD by 20th Century Fox.

Series overview

Season		Episodes	Premiered:	Ended:	DVD set release date
	1	22	September 18, 1978	June 4, 1979	April 24, 2007
	2	24	September 17, 1979	March 31, 1980	TBD
	3	22	November 1, 1980	April 12, 1981	TBD
	4	22	October 7, 1981	April 21, 1982	TBD

Episodes

Season 1: 1978–79

• Producer: Hugh Wilson
• Story editors: Tom Chehak, Bill Dial, Blake Hunter

Nº	Ep	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Pilot"	Jay Sandrich	Hugh Wilson	September 18, 1978
Andy Travis takes over as program director at WKRP, Cincinnati's "beautiful music" station, and his first act is to change the format from "beautiful music" to rock and roll.
2	2	"Pilot, Part 2"	Michael Zinberg	Hugh Wilson	September 25, 1978
While Andy tries to come up with a publicity stunt to advertise the format change, a group of old people invade the station protesting the removal of their favorite music.
3	3	"Les on a Ledge"	Asaad Kelada	Hugh Wilson	October 2, 1978
When a baseball player falsely accuses him of being gay, Les climbs out on the ledge of WKRP's building and threatens to jump.
4	4	"Hoodlum Rock"	Michael Zinberg	Hugh Wilson	October 9, 1978
WKRP sponsors its first rock concert, by the British "hoodlum" (not punk) group Scum of the Earth, whose members are extremely well-dressed and extremely violent as well.
5	5	"Hold-Up"	Asaad Kelada	Tom Chehak	October 16, 1978
Johnny does a live remote from a stereo shop owned by the huckster Del (Hamilton Camp), but an out-of-work DJ (Garry Goodrow) shows up with a gun and hijacks the broadcast.
6	6	"Bailey's Show"	Asaad Kelada	Joyce Armor & Judie Neer	October 23, 1978
Shy, un-assertive Bailey finally gets her chance to produce when WKRP does a public service interview show, but her first guest goes insane on the air.
7	7	"Turkeys Away"	Michael Zinberg	Bill Dial	October 30, 1978
Mr. Carlson decides to take a more hands-on managerial approach by doing the greatest Thanksgiving promotion in radio history -- dropping live turkeys from a helicopter. Note- In 1997 TV Guide ranked this episode number 40 on its '100 Greatest Episodes of All Time' list.
8	8	"Love Returns"	Asaad Kelada	Bill Dial	November 6, 1978
Andy has to choose between love and work when his ex-girlfriend, country star Linda Taylor (Barrie Youngfellow) offers him the chance to go on the road with her.
9	9	"Mama's Review"	Asaad Kelada	Hugh Wilson	January 15, 1979
In a clip show, Andy and Mr. Carlson tell Mama Carlson what has been happening at the station since it switched to rock n' roll.
10	10	"A Date with Jennifer"	Asaad Kelada	Richard Sanders & Michael Fairman	January 22, 1979
When Les wins the coveted Silver Sow Award, he asks Jennifer to be his date for the banquet, and she says yes. A jealous Herb tries to get Mr. Carlson to institute a policy against employees dating each other.
11	11	"The Contest Nobody Could Win"	Asaad Kelada	Casey Piotrowski	January 29, 1979
Thanks to an on-air mishap by Johnny, WKRP is forced to offer a $5000 contest prize, so Andy and Venus come up with a plan to make the contest impossible to win.
12	12	"Tornado"	Will Mackenzie	Blake Hunter	February 5, 1979
A tornado hits Cincinnati; Mr. Carlson has to take charge when Andy is knocked out, and Les's disaster readiness plans are about Communist invasions.
13	13	"Goodbye, Johnny"	Asaad Kelada	Blake Hunter	February 19, 1979
Johnny is offered a better-paying job in Los Angeles, and his co-workers at WKRP try to manipulate him into staying in Cincinnati.
14	14	"Johnny Comes Back"	Asaad Kelada	Blake Hunter	February 26, 1979
Johnny leaves for the job in L.A. but is soon fired. He returns to WKRP, where the new morning man (Philip Charles Mackenzie) is taking payola to support his cocaine habit.
15	15	"Never Leave Me, Lucille"	Asaad Kelada	Bill Dial	March 5, 1979
Herb breaks up with his wife Lucille (Edie McClurg) and moves in with Johnny. Jennifer tries to get the Tarleks back together again so she won't have to put up with Herb's advances.
16	16	"I Want to Keep My Baby"	Asaad Kelada	Hugh Wilson	March 12, 1979
A woman who listens to Johnny's show leaves her baby at the station. Johnny refuses to turn the baby over to child services until he has contacted the mother.
17	17	"A Commercial Break"	Rod Daniel	Richard Sanders & Michael Fairman	March 26, 1979
The station records a commercial jingle for the owner of a funeral-home chain, who wants to sell funeral plots to a younger demographic.
18	18	"Who Is Gordon Sims?"	Rod Daniel	Tom Chehak	April 2, 1979
Venus has to reveal that he is wanted as a deserter from the United States Army after running out near the end of his Vietnam service.
19	19	"I Do, I Do... For Now"	Will Mackenzie	Tom Chehak	April 23, 1979
Jennifer pretends to be married to Johnny when her old boyfriend (Hoyt Axton) from West Virginia shows up in Cincinnati.
20	20	"Young Master Carlson"	Will Mackenzie	Hugh Wilson	April 30, 1979
Mr. Carlson's obnoxious, racist son runs away from military school and spends a very uncomfortable day at the station.
21	21	"Fish Story"	Asaad Kelada	Hugh Wilson (as "Raoul Plager")	May 28, 1979
Herb dresses up as the WKRP mascot, a carp, and gets into a fight with the WPIG pig; Johnny and Venus take an on-air alcohol test, and Johnny's reflexes get better with every drink.
22	22	"Preacher"	Michael Zinberg	Bill Dial	June 4, 1979
Andy tries to fire the Reverend Little Ed Pembrook (Michael Keenan), who sells John the Baptist Shower Curtains and The World Is Coming To An End Lawn Furniture on his show.

Season 2: 1979–80

• Executive producer: Hugh Wilson
• Producers: Bill Dial, Rod Daniel
• Executive story consultant: Blake Hunter
• Story editors: Dan Guntzelman, Steve Marshall, Steven Kampmann, Peter Torokvei

Nº	Ep	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
23	1	"For Love or Money: Part 1"	Will Mackenzie	Mary Maguire	September 17, 1979
Johnny makes a date with Bailey for a movie, then stands her up when he gets a call from Buffy (Julie Payne), his demented ex-girlfriend who is suing him for palimony.
24	2	"For Love or Money: Part 2"	Will Mackenzie	Mary Maguire	September 24, 1979
Johnny's friends rush over to help him deal with Buffy's threat of a lawsuit.
25	3	"Baseball"	Hugh Wilson	Hugh Wilson	October 15, 1979
Les accepts a challenge for WKRP to play a softball game against the number one station in town, WPIG.
26	4	"Bad Risk"	Will Mackenzie	Tom Joachim & Gene Fournier	October 22, 1979
Herb moonlights as an insurance salesman and sells a comprehensive policy to a depressed Les, who promptly has a bizarre accident with his motor scooter.
27	5	"Jennifer Falls in Love"	Will Mackenzie	Paul Robinson Hunter	October 29, 1979
Jennifer falls in love for the first time in her life, with a man who is almost her male equivalent: blonde, beautiful, and a gold-digger.
28	6	"Carlson for President"	Will Mackenzie	Jim Paddock	November 5, 1979
While running for City Council, Mr. Carlson blurts out a damaging piece of information about the incumbent during a televised debate. Feeling guilty, he decides to throw the election.
29	7	"Mike Fright"	Will Mackenzie	Dan Guntzelman	November 12, 1979
During a garbage strike, Johnny jokingly tells his listeners to dump their garbage on the City Hall steps. When hundreds of people do it, Johnny becomes so self-conscious about his influence that he finds himself unable to talk on the air.
30	8	"Patter of Little Feet"	Will Mackenzie	Blake Hunter	November 26, 1979
Mr. Carlson's wife Carmen (Allyn Ann McLerie) is pregnant. Mr. Carlson's initial joy turns to worry as he starts to think she is only having the baby because he wants her to, while his mother recommends an abortion.
31	9	"Baby, If You've Ever Wondered"	Rod Daniel	Bill Dial	December 3, 1979
In the latest ratings, WKRP has gone from #16 to #14 in the Cincinnati market. Everyone considers this a cause for celebration except Andy, who knows that he has failed to turn the station around because he was too soft-hearted to fire the incompetent employees.
32	10	"Bailey's Big Break"	Will Mackenzie	Steve Marshall	December 10, 1979
Bailey gets the job of assistant newscaster, but a jealous Les tries to keep her from getting a regular spot on the air.
33	11	"Jennifer's Home for Christmas"	Rod Daniel	Dan Guntzelman & Steve Marshall	December 17, 1979
Jennifer's friends think she is going to be alone for Christmas without a tree, so each of them arrives at her apartment with a tree for her.
34	12	"Sparky"	Rod Daniel	Steven Kampmann & Peter Torokvei	December 24, 1979
Mr. Carlson hires former Reds manager Sparky Anderson as the host of a sports interview show, which turns out to be such a disaster that Carlson has no choice but to fire his hero.
35	13	"God Talks to Johnny"	Will Mackenzie	Hugh Wilson	December 31, 1979
Johnny becomes convinced he heard God talking to him, saying "John, I love you, I want you to seek knowledge, and I want you to be a golf pro."
36	14	"A Family Affair"	Rod Daniel	Tim Reid	January 7, 1980
After getting angry at Venus for going out with his sister, Andy overcompensates to prove he is not a racist.
37	15	"Herb's Dad"	Rod Daniel	Steven Kampmann & Peter Torokvei	January 14, 1980
Herb's father, the salesman Herb Tarlek Sr. (Bert Parks) runs away from the Shady Rest nursing home and asks his son to lend him money so he can go to California.
38	16	"Put Up or Shut Up"	Will Mackenzie	Blake Hunter, Steve Marshall, Steven Kampmann	January 21, 1980
Jennifer is tired of Herb making passes at her. At Bailey's suggestion, she tries to call Herb's bluff by actually accepting a date with him.
39	17	"The Americanization of Ivan"	Hugh Wilson	Hugh Wilson (story) Dan Guntzelman & Steve Marshall (teleplay)	January 28, 1980
A visiting Soviet hog expert asks Bailey to help him defect to the United States.
40	18	"Les's Groupie"	Rod Daniel	Paul Robinson Hunter (story) Steve Marshall (teleplay)	February 4, 1980
Les goes out on a date with a woman who listens to his show, and after they spend one night together, she moves into his house.
41	19	"In Concert"	Linda Day	Steven Kampmann	February 11, 1980
Everyone at WKRP is overcome with guilt after helping to promote the Cincinnati concert by The Who where eleven people were killed at Riverfront Coliseum on December 3, 1979.
42	20	"The Doctor's Daughter"	Frank Bonner	Lissa Levin	February 18, 1980
Johnny has to figure out how to act like a father when his college-aged daughter Laurie comes to visit with her obnoxious boyfriend in tow.
43/44	21/22	"Filthy Pictures"	Rod Daniel	Hugh Wilson (story) Dan Guntzelman & Steve Marshall (teleplay)	March 3, 1980
A sleazy photographer takes nude pictures of Jennifer while she is changing, and her friends try to find a way to steal the photos before he sells them to a magazine. (Aired in two parts for syndication.)
45	23	"Venus Rising"	Nicholas Stamos	Dan Guntzelman & Steve Marshall	March 10, 1980
Venus is tempted by a job offer from the successful station WREQ, until he learns it is an automated station that only wants him as an affirmative-action hire.
46	24	"Most Improved Station"	Rod Daniel	Richard Sanders & Michael Fairman	March 31, 1980
After WKRP loses a "most improved station" broadcasting award while Johnny wins one for best radio personality, everyone at the station starts fighting, and a special staff meeting is called where they try to work out their problems.

Season 3: 1980–81

• Executive producer: Hugh Wilson
• Supervising producer: Rod Daniel
• Producers: Blake Hunter, Steven Kampmann, Peter Torokvei
• Story consultants: Dan Guntzelman, Steve Marshall
• Story editor: Lissa Levin

Nº	Ep	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
47	1	"The Airplane Show"	Rod Daniel	Richard Sanders & Michael Fairman	November 1, 1980
To compete with WPIG's traffic helicopter, Les starts reporting the news from an old World War I biplane piloted by a deranged veteran.
48	2	"Jennifer Moves"	Linda Day	Hugh Wilson	November 8, 1980
Jennifer moves out of her apartment and into a house in the suburbs, filled with cheating husbands, corrupt local politics, and sex perverts.
49	3	"Real Families"	Rod Daniel	Peter Torokvei	November 15, 1980
The popular reality show "Real Families" does an episode about Herb and his family, where the hosts (Peter Marshall and Daphne Maxwell) try to disprove the claim that Herb is a "hard worker, loyal husband and all-around fine person."
50	4	"The Baby"	Rod Daniel	Blake Hunter	November 22, 1980
Mr. Carlson's wife goes into labor and the whole gang goes to the hospital to be there when she gives birth. But Mr. Carlson has second thoughts about being in the delivery room with her.
51	5	"Hotel Oceanview"	Rod Daniel	Steven Kampmann	November 29, 1980
To land the Vicky Von Vickey jeans account, Andy, Mr. Carlson and Herb go to a hotel in Dayton, a city terrorized by the mysterious Dayton Poisoner. Dr. Joyce Brothers guest stars as Vicky Von Vickey.
52	6	"A Mile in My Shoes"	Rod Daniel	Dan Guntzelman	December 6, 1980
When Herb has jury duty, Andy takes over sales and Venus takes over programming.
53	7	"Bah, Humbug"	Rod Daniel	Lissa Levin	December 20, 1980
In a dream brought on by eating one of Johnny's brownies, three ghosts show Mr. Carlson why he is making a mistake by not giving generous Christmas bonuses.
54	8	"Baby, It's Cold Inside"	Rod Daniel	Blake Hunter	January 3, 1981
On a day when the heat is not working at the station, Mama Carlson comes to visit, gets drunk, and starts reminiscing about her late husband.
55	9	"The Painting"	Rod Daniel	Steven Kampmann	January 10, 1981
Bailey is enamored of a painting Herb bought at Mr. Carlson's church auction, while Herb tries to find a way to make some money on it.
56	10	"Daydreams"	Rod Daniel	Peter Torokvei	January 17, 1981
While Mr. Carlson rehearses a boring speech about radio, his words inspire the employees to daydream about the jobs they'd really like to have.
57	11	"Frog Story"	Rod Daniel	Bob Dolman	January 24, 1981
After Herb accidentally sprays pink paint over his daughter's pet frog, Greenpeace, he brings it to the station to try to get the paint off.
58	12	"Venus and the Man"	Rod Daniel	Hugh Wilson	January 31, 1981
Trying to talk a gang leader out of quitting school, Venus bets the kid that he can teach him about the structure of the atom in only two minutes.
59	13	"Dr. Fever and Mr. Tide: Part 1"	Rod Daniel	Steve Marshall	February 7, 1981
Forced to host a disco dance show on TV, Johnny comes up with a new alter ego, the phony, smarmy "Rip Tide."
60	14	"Dr. Fever and Mr. Tide: Part 2"	Rod Daniel	Steve Marshall	February 7, 1981
Johnny's "Rip Tide" alter ego starts to take over his whole life. (Conclusion of two-part episode.)
61	15	"Ask Jennifer"	Linda Day	Joyce Armor & Judie Neer	February 14, 1981
Jennifer becomes a success dispensing flip, easy advice on the WKRP call-in show "Ask Arlene."
62	16	"I Am Woman"	Linda Day	Lissa Levin	February 21, 1981
Bailey leads a campaign to save the Flimm Building from being torn down, but Mr. Carlson withdraws his support after Mama Carlson offers to finance a new building for the station.
63	17	"Secrets of Dayton Heights"	Frank Bonner	Jon Smet	February 28, 1981
Les learns that the man who raised him was not his biological father, and that his real father was a card-carrying Communist.
64	18	"Out to Lunch"	Dolores Ferraro	Ben Elisco (story) Peter Torokvei (teleplay)	March 14, 1981
Herb's three-martini lunches with clients are starting to push him to the point of full-blown alcoholism.
65	19	"A Simple Little Wedding"	Nicholas Stamos	Blake Hunter	March 21, 1981
Mr. Carlson and Carmen, who eloped 25 years ago to get away from Mama Carlson, decide to renew their marriage vows, and Mama tries to take over this wedding as well.
66	20	"Nothing to Fear But..."	Asaad Kelada	Tim Reid (story) Dan Guntzelman (teleplay)	March 28, 1981
After the station is robbed, everyone becomes paranoid about the possibility of another robbery.
67	21	"Till Debt Do Us Part"	Frank Bonner	Howard Hesseman & Steven Kampmann	April 5, 1981
When his first ex-wife gets engaged, Johnny is overjoyed about paying less alimony, but worries that her fiancé is a womanizing creep.
68	22	"Clean Up Radio Everywhere"	Linda Day	Hugh Wilson and Max Tash	April 12, 1981
Evangelist Dr. Bob Halyers (Richard Paul), a take-off on Jerry Falwell, threatens WKRP with a boycott unless they stop playing songs with "obscene" lyrics.

Season 4: 1981–82

• Executive producer: Hugh Wilson
• Producers: Blake Hunter, Peter Torokvei, Dan Guntzelman, Steve Marshall
• Story consultant: Lissa Levin

Nº	Ep	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
69	1	"An Explosive Affair: Part 1"	Linda Day	Steve Marshall	October 7, 1981
WKRP receives a bomb threat from the terrorist group "Black Monday," and Andy sends Johnny and Venus to broadcast from the transmitter while the station is being searched.
70	2	"An Explosive Affair: Part 2"	Linda Day	Steve Marshall	October 14, 1981
After Andy realizes the bomb is at the transmitter, Andy tries to contact Johnny and Venus, but Johnny has smashed the phone. The only thing that can save them is Johnny's fear of the all-powerful "Phone Cops".
71	3	"The Union"	Linda Day	Blake Hunter	October 21, 1981
While the station's employees consider unionizing, Mr. Carlson deals with feelings of betrayal.
72	4	"Rumors"	Linda Day	Peter Torokvei	October 28, 1981
While his apartment is being fumigated, Johnny stays at Bailey's place, leading to rumors that the two are sleeping together.
73	5	"Straight from the Heart"	Dan Guntzelman	Dan Guntzelman	November 4, 1981
Herb secretly checks into the hospital for heart tests, but then sneaks out of the hospital and takes Les to a 3D pornographic movie.
74	6	"Who's on First?"	Dan Guntzelman	Dan Guntzelman	November 11, 1981
While Herb is still in the hospital, Mr. Carlson has to pretend to be Herb to make a sale, while Les pretends to be Mr. Carlson, and Johnny pretends to be Andy to avoid paying a gambling debt.
75	7	"Three Days of the Condo"	Linda Day	Lissa Levin	November 18, 1981
Johnny gets $24,000 as a legal settlement from the station that fired him in L.A. and immediately goes on a bender. To stop him from wasting all his money, Venus advises Johnny to invest in a condo at Gone With the Wind Estates.
76	8	"Jennifer and the Will"	Dolores Ferraro	Blake Hunter	December 2, 1981
After one of Jennifer's elderly boyfriends, Colonel Buchanan (Pat O'Brien) dies on a date with her, she discovers she has been named executrix of his will.
77	9	"The Consultant"	Dolores Ferraro	Hugh Wilson	December 30, 1981
Mama Carlson hires a professional radio consultant (David Clennon) to evaluate WKRP, and he threatens Andy with a bad report unless the station subscribes to his programming service.
78	10	"Love, Exciting and New"	Frank Bonner	Lissa Levin	January 6, 1982
Andy is going out with Mama Carlson to try to talk her into replacing the station's transmitter, but he starts to think she might be sexually harassing him.
79	11	"You Can't Go Out of Town Again"	Howard Hesseman	Dan Guntzelman	January 13, 1982
Mr. Carlson learns that Carmen first went out with him in college because her sorority dared her to date someone on the "dip list."
80	12	"Pills"	Asaad Kelada	Steve Marshall	January 20, 1982
WKRP has to do commercials for a client whose "diet pills" are actually a legalized form of speed.
81	13	"Changes"	Will Mackenzie	Peter Torokvei	January 27, 1982
Venus tries to act and dress more stereotypically black in preparation for an interview by a militant black magazine; with Jennifer's help, Herb adopts a classier image and wardrobe.
82	14	"Jennifer and Johnny's Charity"	Will Mackenzie	Blake Hunter	February 3, 1982
There is class conflict in the air when Johnny's friends from the fire-damaged Vine Street Mission meet Jennifer's wealthy friends who are preparing to donate money to rebuild it.
83	15	"I'll Take Romance"	Asaad Kelada	Lissa Levin	February 17, 1982
Les goes out with a woman he met through a computer dating service, not realizing that the service is a front for prostitution.
84	16	"Circumstantial Evidence"	Frank Bonner	Tim Reid & Peter Torokvei	February 24, 1982
A woman frames Venus as her accomplice in an armed robbery.
85	17	"Fire"	Will Mackenzie	Dan Guntzelman	March 17, 1982
Herb and Jennifer are stuck in an elevator together when a fire shuts down the Flimm Building.
86	18	"Dear Liar"	Frank Bonner	Steve Marshall	March 24, 1982
In a take-off on the Janet Cooke scandal, Bailey creates a fictional character to serve as the focus of a news story on a children's hospital.
87	19	"The Creation of Venus"	Gordon Jump	Blake Hunter	March 31, 1982
Venus and Andy tell Mama Carlson the real story of how Venus, a former schoolteacher and part-time DJ, came to work at WKRP.
88	20	"The Impossible Dream"	Nicholas Stamos	Richard Sanders & Michael Fairman	April 7, 1982
Egged on by his mother, Les announces that he is going to fulfil his lifelong dream by going to New York to audition for the CBS Evening News.
89	21	"To Err Is Human"	Linda Day	Lissa Levin	April 14, 1982
A major screw-up by Herb has Mr. Carlson finally ready to fire him, but Jennifer tries to find a way for Herb to keep his job by talking to the businessman (Tom Sullivan) Herb offended.
90	22	"Up and Down the Dial"	George Gaynes	Dan Guntzelman	April 21, 1982
The new ratings arrive, and WKRP has finally become a successful station, rising to #6 in the Cincinnati market with Johnny as the #1 DJ. And on that very day, Mama Carlson announces her intention to change the format to 24 hours of news. (This was the series finale, but at the time WKRP was expected to be renewed. WKRP was cancelled after the season ended, and consequently, there was never an opportunity for a planned "final episode".)

References

• WKRP in Cincinnati at the Internet Movie Database
• WKRP in Cincinnati at TV.com